Page 52 of Hunter

“All the time.” Hunter pressed his hand against the small of my back and pushed me through the door.

Faint cigarette smoke and liquor hit me before a wave of something delicious wafted through the air. Someone was cooking, and whatever it was, it smelled delicious.

I looked around the large hall filled with battered tables and a few booths against the walls, placed under the various cuts from other clubs on display.Wait, did that one have bloodstains?I couldn’t investigate as Hunter dragged me aside without warning and a swarm of children all shapes and sizes came racing past and out another door that led out to what I could see as the backyard.

Adair looked on from Hunter’s arms, his face apprehensive.

“You wanna go play with them, buddy?” Hunter asked.

Adair shook his head and clung tighter to his uncle.

Looked like I wasn’t the only one intimidated by the new company.

“This way.” Hunter held my hand as he tugged me up the stairway as Jax walked back down, suitcase gone. The two men gave a passing nod to each other.

I recognized the winding hallways as we headed up to Hunter’s room and paid close attention as Hunter said which rooms belonged to the brothers, which ones I wasn’t allowed in, and so forth until we came to his.

It hadn’t changed, not that I had expected it to when Hunter came back to the house every night. He could have been using it during the day, but I didn’t want to entertain that idea. I simply figured Hunter hadn’t been sleeping around the last few weeks since he had been trying to win me over. Not to mention, he had been home a lot during the day to play with Adair.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Hunter asked, lifting my chin to look up at him. His gazes wandered across my face as he brushed a finger along my jawline while brushing my hair behind my ear with his other hand.

“Nothing. It’s just a little … intimidating, I guess,” I answered honestly.

A small part of me was reminded of Noble’s face and all the emotions associated with him as I looked at this place. I could imagine him being here, flirting with all the girls, fixing bikes, drinking beer.

Hunter looked around his room then down at Adair who sat on the floor, quietly pulling Papa out of his cartoon backpack and squeezing it tightly. “I’m not gonna lie; I want you to be happy here, to be able to trust my brothers. But I also know it’s not gonna happen overnight, so I don’t expect anything from you.”

“Gee, thanks,” I grumbled.

“One, don’t roll your eyes at me.” Hunter scowled. “And two, you know I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Sorry.”

Hunter pressed a small kiss to my lips. Then, with a small grin, he said, “You’re forgiven.”

I scoffed, and Hunter shook his head.

“You’re a little wildcat, you know that?”

I smiled, but said no more as a knock sounded on the door.

Hunter opened it, and the prettiest girl I had ever seen stood there. She had long, black hair in waves down her back and sterling silver eyes. She had to have been no older than sixteen, maybe seventeen.

“Heard I’m on delivery duty.” She spotted me behind Hunter, assessing me in my boxer shorts and shirt ten sizes too big before shrugging and turning back to Hunter. Whatever that meant. “Your clothes.” She dropped them into Hunter’s arms. “Honestly, I didn’t know you worked mini-skirts these days.”

“What the hell is it with all the females in this place and your incessant need to make a comment about everything? Shut your damn mouths for once,” Hunter ranted.

The girl shrugged then stuck her hands on her hips, continuing to look up at the huge man towering over her.

“What?” Hunter growled.

“My thank you?”

Hunter looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he complained before taking a deep breath then looking down at the girl again. “Thank you,” he said, as if took effort to get the words out. “Now scram, Princess, before I get your ma to drag your ass out of my doorway.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“You really wanna try me today?”

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